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Gerome Andsworth
Vice Admiral Gerome Tyler Andsworth was a Human UNSC Naval Officer that held a flag position within the military. He was the commanding officer of the UNSC Indomitable, a Ruthless-class supercarrier. In 3234, he initiated formal contact with the Mobians after crossing a rift between their domensions. He was known for his calm, yet commanding demeanor and his combat record. He served in three wars, two at the helm of the supercarrier. In the years after First Contact, Andsworth became close friends with King Maximilian Acorn, as their situation necessitated the two men to work together. As they both strove to return the Humans to Earth, they developed a partnership, and then a friendship. Andsworth even became one of the few people to be on first name terms with Acorn. In 3239, Andsworth was temporarily relieved of his command on the orders of Troy Marshall, but was reinstated following Marshall's arrest. He resumed command of the supercarrier immediately and with great enthusiasm, regarding his temporary 'command' an utter travesty to a man of his career excellence. In 3241, the Admiral was then placed as the head of a task force to hunt down and eliminate all signs of the Dark Legion, though in the early days of the following year, he was reassigned to a more secret nature. The re-emergence of a Forerunner named the Didact required him to be part of an initiative to work with other high-ranking personnel to stop the Legion in their plans of locating and acquiring an ancient being known as the Prisoner. Biography Gerome was born on February 12th, 3171 in Austin, Texas in the United Federation of North America to Tyler Andsworth, a noted shipping entrepreneur in the Greater Austin Area. Gerome spent much of his young life in the cab of semi trucks embarking on trips all over the United States, which gave him great love for his country and even greater love for his dear Texas, being one of the most important states of them all in his opinion. It was ironic then that most of Andsworth's youth had been spent around trucks and not starships. This all changed when he turned 22 and was commissioned as a ensign aboard a picket cruiser that spent most of its time in the bounds of the Sol system. He justified his decision to his parents stating that he wouldn't be that far away and that he would always be close to home. Tyler however did not like this explanation, explaining to Gerome that the country was a big place and how they had spent days traveling thousands of miles. Gerome, even though he would be 'close', would still be smaller than a star in the sky to both his mother and father. Despite the feelings that this caused with Gerome, he continued to serve, and indeed kept up a steady relationship with his parents through his first tour and by the end of his first four years earned a promotion to Lieutenant, Junior Grade, and a further four years after this due to exemplary service, Full Lieutenant. This promotion was based on merit. During a transfer of vehicles from one vessel to the ship he was serving on, the frigate Kamloops, a fuel leak caused an explosion in the bay as well as a subsequent fire. Lockdown procedures sealed the bay off, with the intended effect of allowing the fire to die off naturally by consuming the oxygen in the compartment. Andsworth, in the bay as part of an inspection of the vehicles, managed to rally technicians who were locked inside with him. Together, they were able to isolate the point of the burn by moving the vehicles to safe areas, using his knowledge of various commercial vehicles as well as organizational skills picked up from his time with his father. With the affected area isolated, and with the technicians ordered into the cabs or sealed cargo crates, Andsworth forced a manual vent of the atmosphere within the bay, gradually leaking enough oxygen into space to snuff the flames. As soon as the blaze died, he sealed the bay. Gerome earned a commendation for this effort as well as the Navy and Marine Corps Medal. Andsworth developed a reputation because of his actions of diving into the fray. In was in 3214 that he would cut his teeth in combat while directly involved on the bridge of a vessel. It was on the cruiser Ellsworth ''that Andsworth served as a fire control officer in a battle involving a Lyshaad battle group belonging to the Order of the Twin Moons, a religious sect of the Lyshaad protectorate that believed the expansion of borders was the will of their prophets and cardinals. What earned Andsworth a promotion to Commander though was the result of him disobeying an order, and a stroke of luck. The Lyshaad lead cruiser, the ''Pattack ka Lajj, faced off against the Ellsworth. ''The commanding officer of the UNSC cruiser, Captain Lysander Dulles, ordered Lieutenant Andsworth to fire on the ''ka Lajj. Andsworth refused stating he could get a better shot as the cruiser was turning. Another vessel had approached far too close, only several dozen kilometers off the side of the vessel. The ka Lajj, spooked, attempted to correct with its main engines, showing part of its broadside. Andsworth, despite the orders to shoot, did not do so until he had a shot at the Lyshaad cruiser's stern. The coilgun shot, travel nearly half the speed of light, lanced the ka Lajj in its main engines, spinning the craft around in space. At the same time, the plasma array intended for the Ellsworth ''instead streamed across space, raking across two support vessels, disabling them, and bringing the total fleet of the Twin Moons down to only two active vessels. Before the stand on ship had the ability to open fire on the Human vessel, a second shot placed on the pinwheeling ''ka Lajj holed the cruiser, leaving it unable to move and unable to shoot. The remaining craft disengaged, jumping into Slipspace. Three weeks later, Andsworth was brought before a promotion board, and they agreed that despite failing to obey an order, his actions had instead earned him a skip promotion to Captain as with two shots, he had eliminated three ships, albeit with luck on his side. Andsworth was also allowed his first command. He was given the UNSC Song of Saturn, ''an ''Atlantis-class light cruiser. As a show of perhaps irony, Andsworth requested that Captain Dulles be brought on as first officer. Personality Andsworth was a Texan first, an Admiral second, and Human being third. His love for his home was evident in the way he never tried to disguise his heavy drawl. His speech and mannerisms of the American West sometimes appeared out of place, especially in formal situations, but Andsworth prided himself in being well-spoken and extremely polite, and despite starting out in a garage, he aspired to leave good impressions. Like many flag officers who spent time doing the dirty work around the fleet, Andsworth cared much for the people under his command, believing that everyone was part of a big machine and it would only work if the parts were all working in unison. While he understood that in the military, one needed to think of the bigger picture, such as a unit or a starship, personal initiative was just as important as it was how he ended up where he did. There was still a disconnect between what went on in the ships and what happened on the ground though. As part of the Navy, Andsworth still had an inevitable distance between the operations of Marines and Army to the Navy in orbit. Despite his best efforts to try to put himself into the shoes of ground-pounders, he still found it difficult to imagine what ground forces went through and the conditions they frequently had to work with. On more than one occasion he journeyed to the surface of Talahan V to try to get the perspective, and frequently wondered how men could do more with less. It was partially because of this disconnect that he wished to be the primary commanding officer of OMEGA, a task that was small enough that it did not overwhelm his primary duty as the CO of the Indomitable. He was known to be a healthy drinker of scotch, whiskey, and bourbon, using it as a means to get people comfortable. A glass of good drink could help seal a deal as well as being the one thing to allow other personnel to relax. Even mad, Andsworth was clipped and polite. It was a rare occasion when he lost his temper, though when he did, it seemed to contain pent up rage from other situations. List of Appearances * Soldier's Log * Journal of Sally Acorn * The Terran Incident * Infested * Deception * Heart of Chaos Category:Character Category:Human Category:UNSC Category:Military Category:Admirals